Fraternity Rose
by Bousan'sHanayome
Summary: The actual story! For complete summary, please read.
1. Chapter 1

_**It's Rush time at Cypress Rhodes, and there are plenty of worthy candidates for Kappa Tau to choose from. Out of this crowd, however, one guy seems to stand out: Matt Braun. He doesn't know how to explain it, but there's just something about Matt that Cappie likes. The guy's hilarious, and his taste in music is awesome. Not to mention the guy kicks ass at beer pong and makes a serious chip dip. Who cares if he's a little on the scrawny side? So, with the support of his fellow KTs, Cappie fully endorses Matt's initiation into the brotherhood of Kappa Tau.**_

_**Yet, as time wears on, the KTs start to notice some strange behavior on Matt's behalf. Like, the fact that he never seems to be interested in any of Cappie's well-intentioned dating advice. Or the fact that he does his laundry in the middle of the night. Or, even the fact that he gets along with girls amazingly well, but never seems to have a girlfriend of his own. But hey, there are a lot weirder things he could do. Right?**_

_**Little do our Kappa Taus know that Matt has his own dirty little secret. One that will turn the entire Cypress Rhodes Greek system on its head. And he'll do just about anything to keep it from getting out. But, when the time comes for him to be outed, the end result might just be the last thing anyone could have imagined. **_

_**Especially Matt's own 'big brother', Cappie.**_ **_Just what is Brother Braun hiding?_**

**Fraternity Rose**

Rush was over.

There had been blood shed, tears cried, and a very unfortunate incident with a sheep and Dean Bowman's car. But now, it was time to introduce the newest members of Greek Row to their respective houses.

Cappie, the notorious party-hardy president of Kappa Tau Gamma, stood in the front hall of the fraternity house. Five minutes ago, he had called a house meeting in order to introduce their new brothers. Or, in this case, brother. It seemed that only one pledge had made it through Rush this year.

"Fellow Kappas, lend me your ears! Or, get at least one body part in this room."

He paused briefly in his speech, giving the guys time to assemble in the front hall. Not that he cared if they were all here, but it did save having to explain everything 50 different times.

Finally, it seemed like all the guys were there. Beav was the last, sauntering in from the living room at the last minute. Satisfied, Cappie continued on.

"This is an important day in Kappa Tau history. Today, we herald the arrival of a young man of promise and legend - not unlike moi."

He gestured to himself, the move full of false modesty. Taking a step back, he put his hand on the handle of the front door.

"As your beloved president, I'm honored to present our newest KT brother. Gentlemen, the only pledge to survive Hell Week with both his clothes and dignity intact - Matt Braun!"

Dramatically, he threw the front door open.

The newest brother stood on the front stoop. He was dressed in a white button down and a black thermal undershirt with faded jeans. His hair was a dark brown, with some reddish highlights and cut a little shorter than Cappie's; his eyes were a bright hazel. His build was slender - not much bigger than Rusty - and he looked to be about a foot shorter than Cappie.

When the door swung open, he looked surprised and raised his hand tentatively in salutation.

"Hey."

Reaching out, Cappie drug the guy into the house. Grinning, he hooked one arm around Matt's neck, as if they were old buddies.

"Come on, don't be shy Mattie. These--..."

He gestured with his free arm to the motley grew of guys currently inhabiting the space that was the front hall.

"Are your brothers! From now on, you're a Kappa Tau. Now, got any questions?"

He looked down at the face of the shorter guy expectantly.

Matt, a little taken aback by the sudden headlock Cappie had him in, grabbed the taller man's forearm in both hands. Half-heartedly, he tried to pry it off of him.

"Yeah. How long are you going to choke me, dude?"

Cap immediately released him, clapping the younger guy on the back.

"Sorry, man. I got a little carried away."

Something suddenly occurred to him, and he motioned to Rusty Cartwright, who was standing in the corner by the coat rack.

"Spitter! Do me a favor? Show Mattie here around campus, alright? He's a freshman; we don't need him getting lost."

Good-naturedly, Cappie put a hand in the middle of Matt's back and pushed him forward. The shorter guy stumbled for a moment, but he made it over to Rusty nonetheless.

Rusty gave the new guy an once-over, curious. Matt was even shorter than him, and he had extremely pale skin. He reminded Rusty of himself when he pledged Kappa Tau: scrawny, short, nervous and under spoken. He felt sympathetic.

Realizing Rusty hadn't answered him, Cappie cleared his throat to get the other guy's attention.

"That goin' to be a problem, Spitter?"

He gave Spitter his 'corporate' look, the one that he used when asking an underclassmen a question. He looked like a boss asking a employee if the paperwork was finished, when he knew the paperwork damn well better be finished.

Snapping himself out of his self-induced assessment of the new guy, Rusty shook his head and grinned happily at his frat brother.

"No, not a problem. I didn't have classes this afternoon anyway."

Cappie nodded, apparently satisfied.

"Great. I'll leave him to you then."

He gave the pair an once-over and grinned to himself.

"Looks like you'll get along great." With that, he left the room, apparently off on some self-appointed mission.

Turning his attention back to the guy in front of him, Rusty smiled. He extended a friendly hand as the rest of the guys dispersed, apparently returning to whatever they were doing before Cappie the meeting.

"Hey, I'm Rusty."

Matt regarded the outstretched hand for a moment before returning the gesture. He smiled too, albeit somewhat cynically.

"Matt. Good to meet you, Rusty."

Rusty took his hand back, distracted for a moment. He couldn't help noticing how small Matt's hands were. Then again, he thought as he looked down at his own hand, he wasn't the most masculine guy either. Realizing he was being rude, he shook himself out of his reverie.

"So where to? I mean, where should we start the tour at?"

Matt seemed to think about it for a moment, before breaking into a small grin. It seemed he was pleased to make a friend so soon.

"Know a good coffee joint?"

**Author's Note: Yay, people want to read it! Whoo-hoo! And look, I got the first chapter up before Sunday (hint hint). Yes, I know it's short. But most of my first chapters are. Anyways, please R&R.**


	2. Chapter 2

"Thanks."

Rusty gave the money to the guy at the kiosk and turned away with his cup of coffee. He caught up to Matt, and the two of them started off down the sidewalk.

Cappie had said to show the new guy around the campus. And while Rusty didn't want to say no to Cappie, he was having a hard time making conversation with the guy next to him with some reason. Which was why they were wandering aimlessly around the campus in awkward silence.

"So….what made you decide to pledge Kappa Tau?"

Okay, it was a stupid question. But at the moment, it was the only thing the poor guy could think of.

Matt took a sip of his coffee, savoring the drink for a minute before swallowing. It took him a few moments to answer.

"Nothing particular."

He lapsed back into silence after that. The two of them wandered a little further, wrapped in their own thoughts. Occasionally, Matt looked up from the sidewalk to take in some scenery, but that was about it. So of course, it made Rusty jump a little when he suddenly started talking again.

"My dad's a legacy, so I pretty much _had_ to pledge a house. All the other house though…..I didn't feel right at any of 'em."

Rusty took a sip of his coffee, nodding considerately. Beside him Matt snorted derisively, talking more to himself than to Rusty.

"And, I can't stand Omega Chi. I had enough of them growing up…."

The Cartwright boy smiled in spite of himself. It wasn't really funny, what Matt said. But the other guy's tone reminded him of Calvin and how he acted about his own father -another Omega Chi legacy.

"Omega Chi's your Dad's old fraternity?"

Matt laughed, a little cynically.

"Yep. Good old Omega Chi. If I _had_ to pledge there, I think I'd just throw myself from the Applied Sciences building."

At this point, he took another sip of his coffee. Swallowing his drink, he shrugged.

"So, I pledged Kappa Tau. Seemed like a good idea at the time."

Rusty nodded enthusiastically, completely unaware that he was behaving like a member of a boy-band fan club.

"Oh, you'll like it there! I mean, I'm not exactly frat material. But being at Kappa Tau…"

He trailed off, realizing how dorky he sounded. Taking a breath, he tried to reign in his enthusiasm.

"It's awesome. Plus, Cappie's a great president."

Matt laughed at that, apparently finding Rusty's enthusiasm for his frat amusing.

"Yeah, he seems like an interesting guy."

Despite the repertoire between them just minutes before, the two fell into an awkward silence once again. Rusty walked beside the shorter guy, trying to figure out what had gone sour. Was he too eager to promote the fraternity? Maybe Matt thought his hero-worship attitude of Cappie a little weird? Did he really have a hero-worship complex about Cappie? Why was he thinking about this right now?!

So…what's your major? I mean, have you even decided a major?"

Matt, to Rusty's surprise, looked embarrassed by the question. Chuckling nervously, he looked for a minute.

"It's uh…journalism."

The shorter man rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, awkwardly meeting Rusty's eyes.

The implication didn't miss Rusty, and he nodded uncomfortably.

"Oh."

Braun saw that his meaning reached Rusty and grinned, trying to play off the tension.

"But don't worry. I'm not here to write an expose on the frat."

Rusty grinned as well, realizing that Matt was trying to relieve some of the tension in the air. For some reason, it made Rusty happy to know that.

"That's…..good to know."

The other boy adopted a sheepishly look again, somewhat embarrassed and regretful at the same time.

"Look, I didn't mean to bring it up. I mean, with your ex and all…."

Rusty gave him a perplexed look, confused. How did Matt know about Jen K?

Matt saw the look Rusty was giving him and sighed in resignation.

"It's kind of…common knowledge on campus that you dated the chick that wrote the article. Sorry."

Rusty grinned in relief and laughed a little, albeit a tad embarrassed.

"It's fine. It's just….weird that I'm gossip material."

To his mild astonishment, Matt clapped him on the back with a reassuring hand.

"Dude, don't even sweat it. Trust me: next week some Tri Pi will get drunk, streak the quad, and everybody will talk about that."

Rusty laughed despite the situation. Taking another sip of his coffee, he smiled.

"Thanks. You're a good guy, Matt. I can see why Cappie chose you as a pledge. You're Kappa Tau material."

Matt finished off his coffee and tossed the empty cup in a nearby trash can.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Rus. But, don't let our 'big bro' fool you. Cappie didn't choose me for my people skills."

At this remark Rusty adopted an interested look. What was Matt talking about?

"Don't tell you bribed him."

The shorter guy grinned somewhat lopsidedly and shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

"Dude, come on. How could you bribe a guy like Cappie? I mean, you have to _want_ something to be bribed."

Rusty grinned in spite of himself. He was getting into this, wherever Matt was headed with this conversation.

"You could always use beer. Or, a free all-day pass to a strip club."

His companion laughed, and nodded in respect.

"True. Our esteemed leader may have a mind like a steel trap, but he's a little loose when it comes to vices."

"So, did you bribe him? Seriously." Rusty gave Matt a sober look. He really wanted to know what the big secret was.

Matt adopted an offended look and took a hand out of his pocket to gesture to himself.

"Dude, its one thing to suggest that _Cappie_ could be bribed. But that I would stoop that low? I am offended."

Rusty laughed harder at him; the fact that Matt was acting eerily like Cappie was extremely funny.

"Okay, then what did you mean when you said that Cappie didn't choose you for your people skills?"

Braun's expression suddenly became very conspiratory. Pausing in the middle of the sidewalk, he leaned forward and motioned for Rusty to come closer. He obliged.

You remember the night my pledge class broke into the Dean's office? And the only reason they weren't caught is because Bowman was too busy cleaning sheep shit out of his car?"

Rusty nodded, rapt with the suspense of it all. Seeing his interest was peaked, Matt grinned impishly.

"Well, that sheep didn't just decide to go for a joy ride on its own."

It took a few moments for the implication to hit Rusty. Suddenly, it dawned on him, and a keyed up smile crossed his face.

"You put the sheep in the Dean's car!"

Matt made a shushing motion with his hands frantically, yet still grinned in spite of himself.

"Dude, I don't think Pakistan heard you."

Rusty laughed sheepishly, realizing that once again he got over excited.

"Sorry. But, that was an awesome idea."

Matt looked like his comment was common knowledge, as if everyone on campus knew it.

"I know. That's why I did it."

He shrugged, having explained what exactly the big secret was.

"Anyway, since I came up with such a fool-proof distraction for Bowman, Cappie gave me a vote of confidence with the rest of the house."

Rusty grinned, a little ironically.

"Yeah, but isn't that still kind of bribing him? I mean, you pulled the sheep stunt to look good to Cappie."

Matt held up a discerning finger and wagged it in his friend's face.

"Correction. It's not bribing, it's a strategic maneuver. Like when politicians kiss babies and play the humanitarian card to win votes."

He noticed Rusty was giving him another strange look and returned it with an innocent look of his own.

"What? I took Poli-Sci as a pre-req. in junior college."

It was Rusty's cue to be surprised again.

"You went to junior college?"

Matt gave him a disparaging look.

"That's kind of like people looking at you funny for being a Science major, isn't it?"

Rusty laughed and started walking again.

"You're right. You can't judge people by their looks."

Matt nodded in agreement, and fell into line beside him.

"Exactly. Take Cappie, for instance. The man looks like an idiot, yet he's been a major in more courses than I've ever taken."

Rusty nodded thoughtfully.

"Yeah. It kind of makes me proud to be his frat brother. Especially around mid-terms."

Matt suddenly gave an exaggerated shudder, as if a horrible thought occurred to him.

"Yeah, but imagine what would happen if he used that big ol' brain of his for evil…"

"Like, if he got brain-washed by Omega Chi?"

Matt let out a barking laugh at Rusty's remark.

"Well, I wasn't going to say it…"

* * *

**Author's Note: I finally updated! Is it just me, or does Matt act a little like Cappie in his mannerisms? I honestly didn't mean for that to happen, but I guess it's just because Cappie's my favorite character on the show. And, as far as all you little guessers out there go, I'm NOT going to spill on Matt's secret. Because if I did, it would spoil it for the other readers who haven't guessed it yet. Although, from the looks of the reviews, everybody is subscribing the same general idea...**

**P.S: I tried hard to go back and correct all the minor mistakes in this chapter. So, if you see a grammatic error or wording error, please overlook it or PM me about it so I can fix it(If it's a huge mistake. You know, one that fucks up an entire paragraph or something). I wrote this chapter at 2:30 in the morning, with the help of a Redbull lol. **


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